Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) was a French poet-songwrit… Read Full Bio ↴Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) was a French poet-songwriter, singer, actor, novelist, painter and director. Gainsbourg's varied style and individuality made him difficult to categorize. Although famous in France for many years, he did not achieve his first No. 1 album until 1979, when he released Aux Armes et caetera more than twenty years after his music career had begun. But since the 1980s, his legacy has been firmly established.

He was born Lucien Ginzburg in Paris, France, the son of Jewish Russian parents who fled to France after the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. His childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, during which he and his family, as Jews, were forced to wear the yellow star and eventually flee from Paris. He had a daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, with English singer and actress Jane Birkin; and a son, Lulu, with his last partner, Bambou (Caroline Von Paulus, who is related to Friedrich Paulus). Before he was 30 years old, Lucien Ginsburg was a disillusioned painter but earned his living as a piano player in bars. Daughter Charlotte would later become an actress and singer.

His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of "old-fashioned" chanson. Very early, however, Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of different musical styles: jazz early on, English pop in the 60's, reggae in the 70's, even hip-hop in the 80's.

Success began to arrive when, in 1965, his song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" was the Luxembourg entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Performed by French teen singer France Gall, it won the grand prize. (The song was covered in English as "A Lonely Singing Doll" by British teen idol Twinkle.) He arranged other Gall songs and LPs that were characteristic of the late 1960s psychedelic styles, among them Gall's '1968' album. Another of Serge's songs "Boum Bada Boum" was entered in by Monaco in the 1967 contest, sung by Minouche Barelli; It came 5th.

In 1969, he released what would become his most famous song in the English-speaking world, "Je t'aime... moi non plus", which featured simulated sounds of female orgasm. The song appeared that year on an LP, "Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg". Originally recorded with Brigitte Bardot, it was released with future girlfriend Birkin when Bardot backed out. While Gainsbourg declared it the "ultimate love song," it was considered too "hot"; the song was censored in various countries, and in France, even the toned-down version was suppressed. Even the Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. Its notoriety led it to reaching no. 1 in the UK singles chart. A long-standing rumor maintains that Gainsbourg and Birkin were actually having sex during the recording session (asked about it in an interview, Gainsbourg answered that if this was true, the song would have lasted longer than 4 minutes).

The seventies
His most influential work came near the start of the seventies with Histoire de Melody Nelson, released in 1971. This concept album, produced and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator and Jane Birkin as the eponymous English heroine. It features prominent string arrangements and even a massed choir at its tragic climax. At the time, sales were poor, but the album has proven influential with artists such as Air, David Holmes and Beck.

In 1975, he released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. Gainsbourg used black humour, as he and his family suffered during World War II. While a child in Paris, Gainsbourg himself had worn the Yellow badge as the mark of a Jew.
The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à la Tête de Chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes.
In Jamaica in 1978 he recorded "Aux Armes et cetera," a reggae version of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Rita Marley. This song earned him death threats from right-wing veterans of the Algerian War of Independence who were opposed to certain lyrics. Shortly afterwards, Gainsbourg bought the original manuscript of La Marseillaise. He was able to reply to his critics that his version was, in fact, closer to the original as the manuscript clearly shows the words "Aux armes et cætera..." for the chorus.

The next year saw him in the new look of Gainsbarre, officially introduced in the song "Ecce Homo."

Final years
In the 1980's, approaching the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular figure on French TV. His appearances seemed devoted to his controversial sense of humour and provocation. He would frequently show up drunk and unshaven on stage. Perhaps his most famous incident came when, on Michel Drucker's live Saturday evening show with the American singer Whitney Houston, he exclaimed, "I want to fuck her."

During this period he released Love On The Beat and his last studio album, You're Under Arrest, (which saw him adapt his style to the hip-hop genre), as well as two live recordings. His third and last Eurovision Song Contest entry came in 1990 with the French entry "White and Black Blues", sung by Joëlle Ursull. It came second in a tie with Ireland. His songs became increasingly eccentric in this period, ranging from the anti-drug "Les Enfants de la Chance" to the duet with his daughter Charlotte called "Lemon Incest (Un zeste de citron)." The title of the latter demonstrates Gainsbourg's love of puns (another example is "Bowie, Beau oui comme Bowie").

Discography :

1958 : Du Chant À La Une !
1959 : Serge Gainsbourg N°2
1961 : L'étonnant Serge Gainsbourg
1962 : Serge Gainsbourg N° 4
1963 : Gainsbourg Confidentiel
1964 : Gainsbourg Percussions
1968 : Initials B.B.
1968 : Bonnie And Clyde ( with Brigitte Bardot )
1969 : Jane Birkin-Serge Gainsbourg
1971 : Histoire de Melody Nelson ( with Jane Birkin )
1973 : Vu de l'extérieur
1975 : Rock around the bunker
1976 : L'Homme à tête de chou
1979 : Aux armes et cætera
1981 : Mauvaises Nouvelles Des Étoiles
1984 : Love on the Beat
1987 : You're Under Arrest

Mambo Miam Miam
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

J'ai dans l'œsophage
Un anthropophage
Qui avait dans l'idée
De m'empoisonner
Il me disait petite tête
Ôte-toi de là que je m'y mette
Je me suis résigné
À le bouffer le premier

Sauvage ou pirate
On se tire dans les pattes
Et le moins malin
Peut crever de faim
Soldat ou artiste
On est tous des tristes
Sires et malheur à
Qui manque d'estomac

Dans ma garçonnière
Misère de misère
La femme du voisin
Se fait couler un bain
Quand la mienne se déhanche
J'ai le cœur qui flanche
Devoir les autres tudieu
La bouffer des yeux

Viendra le jour certes
Où la gueule ouverte
Comme ça début en noir
J'irai me faire voir
Je ferai des orphelines
Et par la racine
Je boufferai les orties
Et les pissenlits

Mambo miam miam
Mambo miam miam
Mambo miam miam
Mambo miam miam

Miam miam

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Serge Gainsbourg's Mambo Miam Miam are quite cryptic and can be interpreted in different ways. One interpretation could be that the anthropophage in the first verse represents the destructive, self-destructive tendencies within oneself that can lead to self-sabotage. The singer has resigned himself to consuming this part of himself, indicating acceptance of his flaws and weaknesses. The second verse speaks about the strife and competition that exists within society, where those who are less clever or capable may suffer. The singer, living in a disadvantaged situation, finds himself unable to resist temptation and becomes jealous of his neighbor’s wife. The final stanza speaks of acceptance of one's own mortality and the inevitability of death. The mambo rhythm throughout the song may symbolize the dance of life, urging people to make the most out of it.

Line by Line Meaning

J'ai dans l'œsophage
I have in my esophagus

Un anthropophage
A cannibal

Qui avait dans l'idée
Who had in mind

De m'empoisonner
To poison me

Il me disait petite tête
He would call me a small head

Ôte-toi de là que je m'y mette
Get out of the way so that I can get started

Je me suis résigné
I resigned myself

À le bouffer le premier
To eat him first

Sauvage ou pirate
Savage or pirate

On se tire dans les pattes
We shoot each other in the feet

Et le moins malin
And the less smart

Peut crever de faim
Can starve to death

Soldat ou artiste
Soldier or artist

On est tous des tristes
We are all sad

Sires et malheur à
Lords and woe to

Qui manque d'estomac
Who lacks a stomach

Dans ma garçonnière
In my bachelor pad

Misère de misère
Misery of misery

La femme du voisin
The neighbor's wife

Se fait couler un bain
Is drawing a bath

Quand la mienne se déhanche
When mine dances

J'ai le cœur qui flanche
My heart falters

Devoir les autres tudieu
I have to behold them, by Jupiter

La bouffer des yeux
Devour them with my eyes

Viendra le jour certes
The day will certainly come

Où la gueule ouverte
Where mouth open

Comme ça début en noir
Like this, it starts with blackness

J'irai me faire voir
I will go see myself

Je ferai des orphelines
I will make orphans

Et par la racine
And by the root

Je boufferai les orties
I will eat stinging nettles

Et les pissenlits
And dandelions

Mambo miam miam
Mambo yum yum

Miam miam
Yum yum

Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SERGE GAINSBOURG

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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01Le Claqueur De Doigts3:08

02La Nuit D'Octobre3:06

03Adieu, Creature !2:08

04L'Anthracite2:33

05Mambo Miam Miam2:36

PT2M36S

Serge Gainsbourg

06Indifférente2:18

07Jeunes Femmes Et Vieux Messieurs2:05

08L'amour à la papa2:50

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@alaincubeddu4490

3y↑3

J’ai dans l’oesophage
Un antropophage
Qui avait dans l’idée
De m’empoisonner
Il m’disait p’tite tête
Ôte-toi d’là qu’j’m’y mette
Je me suis résigné
À l’bouffer l’premier

Sauvage ou pirate
On s’tire dans les pattes
Et le moins malin
Peut crever de faim
Soldat ou artiste
On est tous des tristes
Sires et malheur à
Qui manque d’estomac

Dans ma garçonnière
Misère de misère
La femme du voisin
S’fait couler un bain
Quand la mienne s’déhanche
J’ai le cœur qui flanche
D’voir les autres tudieu
La bouffer des yeux

Viendra le jour certes
Où la gueule ouverte
Comme ça d’but en noir
J’irai me faire voir
J’ferai des orphelines
Et par la racine
J’boufferai les orties
Et les pissenlits

Mambo miam miam
Mambo miam miam
Mambo miam miam
Mambo miam miam

Miam miam

All comments from YouTube:

@Herve1955

10y↑9

J'ai découvert cette chanson il y a deux jours, je la trouve géniale. Finalement la période 58/64 fut sa meilleure période.

@mistericeberggg3677

oulah pas du tout du tout; il a écrit tellement mieux ensuite; il a écrit des choses incroyables dans les années 80 pour lui meme et pour jane; ecoutez la nostalgie camarade, lost song, amour des feintes, rupture au miroir, Sorry Angel, les dessous chics, les années 70 sont incroyables aussi , ecoutez " quoi " avec jane, " le moi et le je "